Lively said in his answer and counter suit that his obligation on the loan is unenforcable because the state constitution prohibits a county from extending any credit to a private corporation.

Also, the guaranty is ambiguous, therefore not enforceable. It omits any oppportunity for any guarantor to mitigate damages by paying a definite one-tenth of the obligation at any one time, he said.

Reeves County Commissioners refused to accept Lively's offer to pay one-tenth of the obligation, or $13,544.86, but demands the full $19,650 that each investor guaranteed under the contract.

The county did enter into an agreement with another shareholder, Randy Reynolds, allowing him to repay the $19,650 over the coming year. He has already paid $5,000 and will pay up to $500 per month through December, 1996.

Reeves County holds a lien on moneys due to Reynolds as court-appointed counsel in both county court-at-law and the 143rd Judicial District.

As a condition of that agreement, the county did not name Randy Reynolds as a defendant in the suit.

Lively asked the court to abate the suit if the county does not bring Reynolds in as a defendant.

In conjunction with the suit, defendant Elvia Reynolds wrote a letter to the county's attorney, John Stickels, approving the sale of 70 young goats at $50 each.

Proceeds from the sale should be placed in Stickels trust account, Reynolds said.

District Judge Bob Parks had the case listed on today's court docket, but announced that Lively's attorney, Robert Scogin, said that attorneys had resolved the matters at hand.

Stickels said that Scogin had requested a copy of Randy Reynolds' agreement, and he has supplied it. The agreement was filed for record on Wednesday.

In criminal hearings this morning, Judge Parks accepted the guilty plea of Roque Rodriguez Madrid on a charge of carrying a prohibited weapon. He sentenced Madrid to two years deferred-adjudication probation and a $500 fine, honoring the plea agreement.

Grand jury indicts Miller

on witness tampering count

Reeves County grand jurors on Thursday indicted the general manager for Red Bluff Water Power Control District for tampering with a witness. They also indicted 17 other defendants.

Jim Ed Miller is charged in the indictment with trying to coerce Ed Armstrong not to testify against him, Red Bluff and its directors, and the Ward County Irrigation District #1 and its directors.

The Ward County grand jury is investigating the Ward County Irrigation District #1 for alleged misapplication of funds through purchase of artwork, premium livestock and other items not related to the district's operations.

Miller allegedly harmed and attempted to harm the credit and business reputation of Ed Armstrong in an effort to influence a witness in an official proceeding to "abstain from, discontinue and delay prosecution" of Miller, the two districts and their directors.

He voluntarily surrendered to Reeves County Sheriff's deputies immediately after the indictment was returned Thursday afternoon and posted $2,500 bail.

"We are disappointed the indictment was returned," said Miller's attorney, Wm. Monroe Kerr of Midland.

District Attorney John Stickels would not comment on particulars of the case.

"The grand jury heard the evidence and determined there was probable cause to return an indictment," he said.

Ward County grand jurors returned 10 indictments Wednesday, but none was related to the irrigation district, Stickels said. That evidence will be presented at a later session.

Most of Thursday's Reeves County indictments were drug related. Indicted were:

Victim seeks accident compensation

Return to top By PEGGY McCRACKEN Staff WriterThe surviving victim of a head-on collision on Texas Highway 17 Aug. 14, 1995 has sued his own insurance company.

The other dirver, James McAnally, died of injuries sustained in the wreck. Robert Porras sustained injuries to his chest, head, neck, back, shoulders, arms and body as a whole, the 143rd District Court petition alleges.

McAnally was traveling south on Texas 17 when he attempted to turn left onto County Road 112 into the path of Porras' pickup, which was traveling north. The two pickups met right front to left front, the petition claims.

Porras claims that McAnally was negligent in failing to grant right-of-way to an oncoming vehicle.

McAnally had insurance for himself and Porras had under-insured motorist coverage through the defendant, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., according to the petition.

Fired teacher aides sue community council

Four former teacher's aides at the Pecos Head Start have sued the Community Council of Reeves County, which operates the pre-school program for disadvantaged children.

Susie Mendoza Saenz, Teresa Carreon, Sylvia Vasquez Mendoza and Gloria Lujan Jones claim they were unlawfully terminated from their position for filing for unemployment compensation in 1995.

"The termination was the product of a decision of the (council) executive director," alleges the petition, filed Tuesday in 143rd District Court.

Plaintiffs claim that the termination was in retaliation for their exercising their rights under state and federal law, and that it also violated their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law.

Each plaintiff sustained losses, injury and damages for loss of income, mental anguish, pain and suffering and loss of reputation, the suit alleges. They seek an undetermined amount of actual and compensatory damages, plus attorney fees and court costs.

Yvonne Martin, council executive director, was out of town today and unavailable for comment. Joey Herrera, chairman of the board of directors, said he will withhold comment until he sees the suit.

Head Start aides work only during the school year. They are "laid off" during the summer months, then re-hired in the fall. One of the plaintiffs said that Martin told her she would not be re-hired if she applied for unemployment compensation during the summer - which she did.

Smith gets 10-year sentence for robbery

Return to topDistrict Judge Bob Parks on Thursday handed down a 10-year prison sentence to Julius Kal Smith, on his plea of guilty to aggravated robbery.

Smith admitted his part in a robbery at the Swiss Clock Inn on Nov. 10, 1995. He received 70 days credit for time he spent in jail since his arrest.

Pleading guilty to state jail felonies and placed on three years probation, fined $500 plus $164.50 court costs and $140 restitution to the Department of Public Safety were:

Ruben Garcia Tercero, delivery of cocaine less than one gram on Aug. 30, 1995; Daniel Bustamante Ortiz, delivery of marijuana under five pounds on Aug. 31, 1995; and Antonio Garcia Montanez, delivery of heroin less than one gram on Aug. 30, 1995.

Grand jury to get water district audit

Return to topDistrict Attorney John Stickels said today that he will present a special audit of the Ward County Water Improvement District #1 to the grand jury when it meets Jan. 30.

"After viewing the audit, it raises serious concerns in my mind about what the way the water district spent money in the past, about bookkeeping procedures; and about how it deals with employees," he said.

The Ward County grand jury ordered the audit after receiving citizen complaints about district operations.

Settlement excuses jurors

Jurors called for duty in 143rd District Court today were excused when attorneys for the parties in a civil damage suit settled out of court.

District Judge Bob Parks said that some prospective jurors will return Wednesday for a criminal trial.

Today's aborted trial concerned the death of Adrian Lujan in a wheel chair-automobile accident on April 16, 1993. His parents, Leonor Lujan and Robert N. Lujan, sued the maker and distributor of the wheel chair, Everest and Jennings Corporation and Arizona Medical Supply Company.

Plaintiffs' attorney, Roddy Harrison, declined to comment on the settlement.

Judge Parks said he had several other cases on the trial docket this week, but would have to cancel all but Wednesday's criminal case, involving unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

District Attorney John Stickels is unable to try a case on Tuesday because he will convene the Ward County grand jury at 1:30 p.m. in Monahans.

Stickels said the grand jury is investigating the Ward County Water Improvement District #1, and he has subpoenaed a large number of witnesses for Tuesday's session.

Appeals court voids beer, wine exception

Opponents of beer and wine sales won a round when the Eighth Court of Appeals ruled that a special exception won by S&B Beverage Company Inc. (dba Furr's) is void.

S&B sought the special exception to the C-1 zoning ordinance in the 900 block of Eddy Street to allow the sale of beer and wine at Furr's for off-premises consumption.

Furr's has since sold the store, and the question is moot, said John Stickels, attorney for S&B.

Randy Reynolds, who filed suit on behalf of West Texas Water Works and others to void the special exception granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, said today that he is pleased with the appeals court's decision.

"Obviously it stops everything, and it is probably moot anyway," he said.

District Judge Bob Parks said the judgment remanding the matter back to his court for trial on Reynold's petition for a declaratory judgment that beer and wine sales are prohibited by the zoning ordinance is not final until he receives a mandate from the appeals court.

"When I receive the mandate, it is back in my court," Judge Parks said.

The appeals court overturned Judge Park's ruling that he does not have jurisdiction to try the facts of the case and set aside or modify the special exception granted.

"A board of adjustment must act within the strictures set by the legislature and the city council and may not stray outside its specifically granted authority. Any action exceeding this authority is null and void and subject to collateral attack," the appeals court ruled.

Courts have defined "special exceptions" as uses permitted expressly by the ordinance, under conditions there specified.

The Pecos ordinance addresses three types of possible usages relevant to this proceeding: permitted uses, prohibited uses and contitionl uses. If the use is prohibited, either explicity or impliedly, any special esception allowing it is void and subject to collateral attack, the court's opinion states.

"Therefore, the question narrows to whether the sale of beer and wine in a C-1 district is a conditional use expressly provided for under the ordinance. Otherwise, the special exception is void.

The ordinance provides that the operation of a "retail store (no secondhand goods, beer or liquor)" is a permitted use in a C-1 district.

Stickels interprets the parenthetical provision as modifying the type of store which may be operated, while Reynolds argues that it modifies the type of goods which may be sold at a particular retail store.

Either interpretation "does not purport to allow the conditional use of beer and wine sales to be determined at the discretion of the Board. Therefore, any special exception allowing such a use under the conditional use provision of the ordinance is void, just as if the use were explicitly prohibited in the ordinance," the appeals court concluded.

Also party to the suit is Convenience Beverage Inc., who petitioned the zoning board of adjustment for a special exception allowing beer and wine sales at Allsups store on Eddy Street.

Stickels said the ruling makes it clear that the city council would have to change the zoning ordinance in order for beer and wine sales to be legal in that district.

Lively filed a counterclaim alleging that the county violated the Fair Debt and Collection Practices Act. He also asks that Randy Reynolds be included as a defendant, since he was one of the original stockholders.

Reynolds signed an agreement with the county to pay his guarantee of $19,650. After an initial payment of $5,000, he would pay up to $500 per month, with the county holding a lien against attorney fees due Reynolds for his representation of indigent clients.

Barton sentenced to 10 years probation, fine

District Judge Bob Parks on Friday sentenced Queston Nabi Barton to 10 years in prison, probated for 10 years, assessed a $3,000 fine and ordered him to pay $490.18 to Sunday House (Swiss Clock Inn) for a robbery on Nov. 17, 1995.

Barton was convicted by a 143rd District Court jury on Wednesday of robbery, which carries a penalty of 2-20 years in prison.

District Attorney John Stickels abandoned the state's claim that Barton used a deadly weapon, which constitutes aggravated robbery and carries a penalty of up to 99 years in prison.

The jury found that Barton had not been previously convicted of a felony and recommended probation, which Judge Parks granted, allowing 117 days credit for time that Barton spent in jail since his arrest.

However, as one of the terms of probation, Judge Parks ordered Barton to serve six months in county jail, with no credit for time served, perform 250 hours of community service and reimburse Reeves County for $1,000 in attorney fees.

He will be under surveillance supervision and electronic monitoring for six to 12 months and pay monthly probation fees, plus $206.50 in court costs.

Green salary dispute set for trial

Visiting Judge Ray D. Anderson of Brownfield this morning set a tentative trial date for the week of March 11 in the suit filed by Reeves County Court-at-law Judge Lee Green against Reeves County.

Ruling on special exceptions, Judge Anderson denied Judge Green's petition for an injunction forcing the county to pay his salary while the case is in dispute.

"That doesn't matter, because we are getting a quick trial setting," said Green's attorney, Mario Gonzalez of El Paso.

"If we had to wait months and months to get a setting, it would be something we would have to look at," Gonzalez said. "The fact we have such a quick trial setting makes us extremely happy."

Judge Green filed suit after county commissioners took his $53,000 salary out of the budget, setting it at zero for 1996. They later amended the budget to include $32,500 for the court-at-law judge salary, but Green has refused to accept payroll checks.

Gonzalez said that Green is asking for a reasonable salary, adequate office space and reasonable clerical help.

The statute creating the court-at-law, passed by the Texas Legislature in 1972, sets the judge's salary at 90 percent of the district judge's salary or less.

"I don't find 90 percent of the district judge's salary unreasonable," Gonzalez said. "They both have to have a bachelor's degree, doctor of jurisprudence, pass the state bar, practice law a number of years, get elected and go to judicial college," he said.

"These people spent a lot of time and money getting educated. (A judge) can not practice private law, and that's what makes it so difficult."

County Judge Jimmy Galindo and commissioners Lupe Garcia, Dr. W.J. Bang, Herman Tarin and Bernardo Martinez were supoenaed for today's hearing. They were required to bring copies of the county budget for the past three years, minutes of county commissioners meetings at which the salary of the judge was discussed, documents relied upon in determining the salary for the county judge and documents evidencing comparable salaries for county court judges in other counties.

In denying the injunction on the salary question, Judge Anderson said that Green failed to show immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage if the injunction was not granted.

Anderson, senior judge of the 121st district, was appointed by Administrative Judge Weldon Kirk after Green objected to Judge Curt Steib of San Angelo hearing the case, which was originally set for Jan. 17.

Roddy Harrison, attorney for Reeves County, had no comment on today's hearing.

Ernesto and Orfa Carmenates appeared in 143rd District Court this morning for appointment of attorneys on their indictments for theft.

District Judge bob Parks appointed Walter Holcombe to represent Ernesto Carmenates and David Zavoda to represent his wife.

The former Reeves County squash farmers are in custody on the grand jury indictments, which stem from a loan default.

Carmenates borrowed $60,000 from Reeves County's revolving loan fund to finance the squash operation. When he was unable to deliver the crop to market as it matured in July, 1993, Carmenates abandoned the project and left town.

A previous indictment was dropped when Carmenates agreed to repay the loan. However, no payments were made to the county.